DEMOCRATIC gubernatorial hopeful Carl McCall, who opposed the historic national welfare-reform law in 1996, is refusing to say now if he wants the soon-to-expire law extended.

Gov. Pataki, McCall’s Republican rival, wants the law extended.

McCall, who says his family was once on welfare while he was growing up in Massachusetts, “understands the importance of welfare reform” and “believes there’s much more to be done in this area,” insisted spokesman Steve Greenberg.

Greenberg said McCall wants the law changed to provide a greater emphasis on job training and education for welfare recipients – but he wouldn’t say if McCall favors extending the law if it doesn’t include all he wants.

McCall, like many liberal New York Democrats, urged then-President Bill Clinton in 1996 to reject the welfare-reform measure, contending it didn’t provide enough job training and day care for those facing a cutoff in welfare.

“I’m going to tell him [Clinton], ‘The welfare bill is bad public policy,’ ” McCall said at the time.

The law, which sought to end longtime welfare dependency by setting time limits on benefits, has helped cut the nation’s welfare caseload in half to about 5.3 million recipients.

Pataki, who supported the original measure, “believes the welfare-reform law was a major success and should be extended,” said spokesman Joseph Conway.

* A just-completed Republican poll shows Gov. Pataki with a hefty 19-point lead over McCall, with support growing for billionaire maverick Tom Golisano.

The new GOP survey of 600 likely New York voters found Pataki with 45 percent of the vote to 26 percent for McCall, with another 10 percent for Golisano and just over 4 percent for Andrew Cuomo, who remains on the ballot as the Liberal Party candidate, said a senior state Republican.

The poll found Pataki leading McCall in overwhelmingly Democratic New York City, 45-33 percent, with just over 4 percent for Golisano, who’s from Rochester. Pataki was ahead with a relatively modest 40.5 percent of the vote in traditionally Republican upstate, while McCall – who has been making a strong appeal for upstate votes – had 25 percent.

Golisano, who has already spent over $30 million on his campaign, drew 14 percent of the upstate vote. Pataki’s strongest support was in the suburbs, where he won 53 percent to just 19 for McCall and 9 for Golisano.

Pataki was also well ahead of McCall among Catholics, 54-18 percent, and Hispanics, 48-23, but he was virtually tied among Jews, 40-39, and trailed badly among blacks, 10-49.

He was favored over McCall among men, 46.5-25 percent, and women, 44-27.

“What this new poll shows is that there has been no significant bounce for McCall coming out of his primary win,” a senior state Republican told Inside Albany.

“While McCall continues to have a good favorable rating with the voters, when people are asked about a matchup with the governor, McCall hasn’t had any impact.”

The source said the poll showed Golisano was drawing about equally from Pataki and McCall, although an increasing number of GOP leaders privately warn that Golisano poses a potentially fatal threat to the governor.

“Golisano’s message is an upstate Republican message, and it has already resonated with voters here,” said a prominent upstate GOP leader.

“Many people upstate believe Pataki has become a downstate or New York City governor, and his embracing of so many Democratic issues has made him vulnerable to Golisano,” he continued.

* Pataki was described as “furious” last Tuesday night when he learned that he had lost to Golisano – his first-ever election defeat – in the Independence Party primary.

“The governor had been told by his political ‘geniuses’ that he had the primary in the bag, and they just totally misjudged the situation,” said a prominent Republican insider.